The present invention relates to an interoperational store.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,858 relates to an interoperational store comprising a helical belt wound about a fixed central cylindrical drum which presents a central axis coaxial with the axis of the helical belt, and an outer helical guide groove engaged in sliding manner by the inner periphery of at least part of the helical belt. The helical belt is connected to a drive device by which it is rotated about the central axis of the cylindrical drum so as to engage a longer or shorter portion of the helical groove, and flex axially between a minimum capacity position, wherein all the turns of the helical belt are free of the helical groove and packed against one another, and a maximum capacity position, wherein all the turns are distended, are equally spaced along the central drum, and engage the helical groove.
A drawback of the above known store is the equal axial spacing of the turns of the helical belt, which means the store is only economically feasible for loose products small enough to be stacked in layers between adjacent turns of the belt, or for products of a maximum size approximately equal to but no larger than the spacing of the belt.